The pattern cutting bit did indeed work like a charm. Last night I finished the second side panel using my jigsaw to roughcut the shape and then using the pattern cutting bit with the first side panel as a template. It worked exactly like I thought it would, which is nice since that usually happens so rarely.

Tonight I'm planning on cutting the front door to size and then cutting the hole for the coin door. After that I'll probably work on the second tier control panel. Then I'm going finish (as in stain and polyurethane) everything at once.

I've been hard at work this weekend completing the first side piece. It came out just as I had planned it. Below I've got a picture of it propped up against the interior structure, with the control panel sitting where it will go in the final installation.

The second side should be easy to cut. My plan is to set the finished side on a 4'x8' sheet of plywood and then trace around it. I'll then rough-cut just outside of those lines using my circular saw and jigsaw. Then I'll use a pattern cutting bit in my router to use the first side as a template to cut the second side to exactly the same dimensions. This level of precision isn't really needed, but it make cutting the second side way faster since I can be a little sloppier on the initial cuts. Or at least that's my theory...

I finally got all of the controls mounted in the control panel now. I also cut the hole for the second tier control panel. Picture below.

Next: Cutting the side panels.

Another update: I got done finishing the main control panel (picture below). And I also figured out that finishing is not my favorite thing. Don't get me wrong, I think it makes the wood look beautiful, I just don't enjoy applying polyurethane (the stain isn't as bad as the polyurethane).